SUNDAY AFTERNOON VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 SEPT 4, 2005 Musical guest Jane Lui will have a fan panel today at 5:00 PM in LBCC 104c.

Rex Navarrette will have new material to- night at 7:00 PM.

Mizushima & Ohata Unleashed! Seiji Mizushima, director of Dai-Guard, He said that everything he encoun- Slayers Next, Shaman King, and Full Met- ters overseas is a stimulus, and he al Alchemist, led the panels. felt that his next series might feature influences from his current trip to Speaking about Full Metal Alchemist, Baltimore and Long Beach. Mizushima said that it grew more serious toward the end because the The second half of Full Metal Alchemist storyline made it harder to inject the will be airing on Cartoon Network humor of the earlier part of the se- starting Oct 2nd. The movie should be ries. It just seemed inappropriate. available on DVD within the next few months. What else was inappropriate for Japa- nese television? Well, the powers that Koichi Ohata followed Mizushima. He be never tell the animators ahead of started his career as a mecha design- time, but the general rule is No Blood er, but moved on to directing titles No Panties. He noted that he didn’t such as Genocyber, MD Geist, and now have a particular dream project, but Burst Angel. Due to the size of the audi- would be happy to just keep working ence in this panel, he was able to give on projects that he enjoys. much more in-depth answers.

In Japan, he said that anime-related When he first started directing, the events are for promoting specific visuals were very stylish, but it was series and rarely become large com- hard to keep up with what the fans bination events like PMX or AX. The wanted. Ohata wanted to break closest they had to a large conven- through the mold and created a se- tion was AX Tokyo. He would like to ries with more focus on impact than see more conventions, but feels that style. if there were too many, creators in Japan would be less likely to go over- When creating Jo, he wanted to make seas. -See MATSUI Next Page Issue 4 next page

MATSUI Continued a character that was more true-to- watched one with his mother while ground. It will probably be some time life and not as idealized and stylized visiting home. He saw in them very before he can say more, but he was as the stereotypical anime girl. He pure-hearted love stories. They fea- very enthusiastic about it and said it wasn’t sure if the hardcore otaku tured characters that were straight- is something to look forward to. crowd would like the more realistic forward in going after what they portrayal, but he was able to create want, something that he felt was On otakus, he didn’t think they were everything he wanted to create. He missing from Japanese shows. a bad thing; he considers himself was able to incorporate themes from an otaku. There are those on the ex- Hollywood and Hong Kong as paro- treme whose behavior is blamed on dies in the series. anime, though, just like there are those whose behavior is blamed on He was very pleased by the interna- video games here in the US. He felt tional response. Originally, he had that such links are unfair. He would worked on a lot of dark projects, like society to consider otakus’ needs but found out that American fans more seriously. wanted more cheesecake and light- hearted fare. Anticipating his over- It is hard to comment on the otaku in seas audiences, he approached Burst Japan. It’s a very touchy subject. One Angel as pure entertainment. It was can’t say things that might offend the international focus on the show The timing of the Korean drama them, because they would lash back. that helped make it stand out from craze is interesting, as he is working In catering to the otaku, he felt that the 100 and more anime titles that air on a movie adaptation of a popular creative passion in the industry has each week in Japan. Korean manga. It’s generally hard to given way to the concerns of busi- get money to create pilots in Japan ness. Regarding Korean dramas and their because investors don’t like the risk, recent rise in popularity, Ohata origi- but the Korean government has been In his work, Ohata states that he in- nally thought they were really silly, willing to give grants toward the proj- corporates both what he wants and but became hooked on them when he ect, which has allowed it to get off the what otakus want. Hearing from fans is very important and he was glad to have had the chance to come to PMX Today’s Live Programming! to hear from his international fans.

LBCC 103 LBCC 104C Seaview C LBCC 104AB Regency H Regency D-G Regency B Regency C Regency A

CosFest Program 1 Program 2 Program 3 Concerts Autographs Video 1 Video 2 Video 3 -Ian Ng Judging SUN SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE Bonsai FUNimation Sakura Taisen Workshop 4:00 Panel Chinese-Am Gunslinger Ecole de Paris Martial Arts Auction Girl Vol 2 The CosFest Eps 6-9 Sumire Uninvited Commemorative 5:00 TMR Panel Jane Lui Fan Panel Masaki Asai Autographs Di Gi Chara Eps 1-16 6:00 Burst Angel Tofu Records Vol 2 Eps 5-7 Chrno Crusade Vital 7:00 Rex Navarrete Vol 7 Post CosFest Fafner Viewing Party 8:00 TMR Fan Vol 2 Samurai Screening Eps 5-8 Champloo Azumi 9:00 Vol 5 Karaoke Zoo Hero Gankutsuou Eps 21-24 Count of 10:00 Monte Cristo Club PMX Eps 1-4 Di Gi Charat A Bittersweet Yousei Teikoku Petite Cossette 11:00 Life Lemon Drop Lupin 3rd Kick Concert Farewell Nostradamus 12:00 Pacific Media Devilman 1:00 Exploration at